Operation Iowa Flag

[isuhawkeye]

I don't see why they would, but it seems that they did.

[ZigZag911]

Sometimes it seems we (this country) are bound and determined to bury ourselves progressively in needless red tape.

I was stunned the first time I heard the Air Force or Army charged us rent for the use of some rather run down barracks at Ft Dix (I know it's an army facility, but back WIWAC I think the AF paid them & CAP paid AF).

Here we were, about 200 cadets they were trying every which way they could think of to recruit, and they couldn't spring for the use of the (somewhat dilapidated) hall??

Nobody else was using it anyway.

Paying for our food made sense, I got that.

Oh well, I trust most of you know by now that one of the things CAP stands for is
Come And Pay!

[SAR-EMT1]

I would like to apologize to the members of the IOWA Wing if I seemed a bit over the top in my earlier post. I just seemed to me at the time that the IAWG was being slighted when compared to the massive participation by other units. It put me on the defensive and I opened my mouth without thinking things through.

I hope you are invited back next year.

[Nick Critelli]

We just finished our first day of Air/Comms operations.  This has been a great morale boost for us.   It was quite a show of air force today. Unfortunately  our pilots couldn't see it because it was happening about 2000 feet above them.  We should have some operation photos later this week.

Amidst all  the turmoil and drama in Atlanta it is nice to know that we are  appreciated and respected.

[Nick Critelli]

Several of you have e-mailed me requesting updates on the Iowa Flag joint forces exercise involving  the Iowa Air National Guard, Iowa Army National Guard and the Iowa Wing -CAP. As you know it is a two week mission ending August 16th.  If the exercise is a success this will become an annual event.

Here's a  REDACTED    update as posted by the IA Air Nat. Guard:

OPS day 1 

Push #2: 1330L-1530L

Players: 8 F-16's, 1 KC-135, OPFOR, JTACS, Civil Air Patrol aircraft, and Army Convoy activity. Summary: Second push was much more challenging due to the large number of aircraft working within the airspace. The weather cleared a bit allowing for a large number of dynamic targeting scenarios working with the JTACS. ,

OVERALL: For day 1 of an event like this, it was very successful. There were no major equipment issues, coordination issues, or aircraft fallout. Weather was the primary enemy.


OPS day 2

Push #2: 1330L-1530L

Players: 6 F-16's, 1 KC-135, OPFOR, JTACS, Civil Air Patrol aircraft, and Army Convoy activity.

Summary: The afternoon missions went off as fragged. All fighters arrived on time along with the CAP aircraft. Once again weather was a big factor. The tanker was delayed 30 minutes causing us to conserve fuel. The Army ground
element and the JTACS continued to work together and had a lot of success. After about 45 minutes, a decision was made to RTB the CAP flight due to airspace issues. The F-16's needed to use the same altitude blocks to get below the weather. Due to the marginal conditions, it was the safe thing to do. We did debrief with Col Kellogg the CAP commander and we have a good plan to avoid this during future missions. The Waterloo Medevac helo participated in a casualty evac drill at Pocahontas airport. Again, a productive afternoon in spite of the weather. No major issues beyond that.

OVERALL: I would characterize today as another success for the most part. Tomorrow, we're hoping for a more productive day for the JTAC in the field and the CAP flight. We are also looking into utilizing the CAP airborne video sensor later in Iowa Flag.

[cyclone]

Iowa Flag continues to roll on.  Our aircrews and staff back at the command post are having a great time.  The Air and Army Guard are treating us very well and the joint operation is going better than planned.

Operations are done tonight until next week.   So far our crews are really enjoying the mission and the Guard is very excited about all the "neat toys" we have.

[RogueLeader]

If only I didn't have the problems that caused me to move to OK, I could have been participating for a while. . . . 

[Nick Critelli]

REACTED debrief from 4th OPS Day

Today we had two more successful missions. Both air and comms ops worked flawlessly.

The morning sortie tested everyone's flexibility. We were tasked to emulate the role of a UAV flying a similar pattern as before. Air Guard battle controllers and participating F16s etc expected to see the same mission profile as before. Unfortunately immediately before the mission everyone was advised the CAP Flight had been canceled due to mechanical failure. What they didn't know is that we had been tasked to enter the operation area playing the role of a United Nations VIP sightseeing plane. It was quite a surprise and tested everyone flexibility when they heard the callsign UN1. At the end brief it was apparent that we stressed the system for them...which is exactly what they wanted.

The afternoon's mission was much more relaxed and shortened.

Everyone is pleased with our performance, impressed with our professionalism and amazed at our abilities. I can't tell you how proud I am of all of you...those who were directly involved in the mission and those who were not. Those in the box derive a lot of support from those who cannot be there. We are all ONE BIG UNIT and we work well as a team.

OPSEC REDACT


Once again thanks to all of you and especially to Col Kellogg who has gone way beyond the call of duty.

NICK CRITELLI, Lt Col CAP
Vice Commander—Iowa Wing.

[RiverAux]

The UN???  Don't you know that those midwesterners freak out about the UN moving in and taking over? 

[BillB]

Don't tell me Iowa has applied to the UN for membership?

[ZigZag911]

Nah, UN was going to Iowa to vote in the straw poll!

[Ohioguard]

Do we have an update on this operation?

[Nick Critelli]

Update: 16 Aug 2007 @ 14:40 CDST

I am presently at CAPCOM at the TS133rd.   We just completed a press conference for the news media.  Network affiliates were present. Briefing by Gen. Peirce regarding Iowa Flag and the three member of "Team Iowa" IAANG, IANG and IAWG. Felt extremely proud and unbelievable humble (a rare emotion for me) to have IAWG included in the group.

To date we have been  tightly focused on our part of the  mission to the point we have not seen the big picture.  The briefing showed that this exercise  was HUGE and an incredible training opportunity for both air and ground. 

Gen. Pierce confirmed to the press that IAWG played an essential part in the training emulating the presence of a UAV.  We heard reports from the commanders of the various groups explaining how difficult it is to plan and operate around the presence of a UAV and how much they appreciated IAWG's participation. 

I reported that the exercise provided us with two opportunities. First was the opportunity to assist the IAANG and IANG in their training. But equally, it was important in that it provided us with an opportunity to training our air to ground coordination, recon and comms which are essential to our SAR/ES/DR mission. 

IAANG has made a two hour video of the operation.  They will make it available to us for our use. 

The last two missions are scheduled for this evening.  Last night's written brief will follow.

We're starting the evening's planning and briefing process so I have to go.


Nick Critelli

[Ohioguard]

Thanks for the update.  Sounds as if you are doing the job.


JCW

[Nick Critelli]

The following is a REDACTED summary of yesterday's  IOWA FLAG exercise.*

Date: Aug 15th, 2007

Push #1: 1300-1500L

Players: 2 F-16's, JTACS, 1 KC-135, and Army Convoy activity.

Summary: Army Ground conducted two separate mounted recon missions 1X4 vehicle  recon  <<REDACT>> 

Two F-16's and tanker were all on time << REDACT>> . Fighters worked with the JTACS (type-3 control) from the 133rd in Ft Dodge. Some weather in the area but we were able to work around it.

Push #2: 1600-1800L

Players: 6 F-16's, 1 KC-135, 1 E-8 JSTARS (CNX), OPFOR, JTACS, Army Blackhawks, Civil Air Patrol aircraft and Army Convoy activity.

Summary: This was a major joint event (on the fly). The weather cleared some but was still a factor. We got early notification that the E-8 had cancelled  so we moved quickly to re-rolled the Army ground element, Boone Blackhawk, and Air Force OPFOR team. The Ground element conducted a ground recon  missions near  <<REDACT>>. The Army ground team put observers in the Blackhawk and they conducted aerial recon in support of the ground team.

Unknown to the ground team, the Air Force OPFOR team took up position ahead of them. The Blackhawk team ID'ed the OPFOR   "insurgents" and maneuvered the  ground element to the site. They detained the OPFOR and passed off other insurgent locations to the Air Force JTAC team who vectored F-16's in for target prosecution. On the air side, all flights checked in as fragged. The first two F-16's reported lingering weather in the Southern airspace.

Controllers at the 133rd cleared the fighters into the lower blocks to get under it. At the same time, we deconflicted the Civil Air Patrol flight by skipping their scheduled Carroll way point to go straight to <<REDACT>>  for safety of flight reasons. CAP then extended their time over  <<REDACT>> creating a challenge for the efforts to attack the targets in that area. All sets of F-16's got extensive work with the JTACS.   

Push #3 2100-2300L

Players: 6 F-16's, E-8 JSTARS (CNX), OPFOR, JTACS, Civil Air Patrol aircraft, Army Blackhawk, and Army Convoy activity.

Summary: Weather had passed out of the area and everything went off as planned. The Army ground element continued to work directly with the Air Force JTACS doing both mounted and dismounted patrols south of  <<REDACT>>  and prosecuted several targets. The flow of fighters went very well and all worked different sectors  with JTACS and OPFOR. Civil Air Patrol mission went of as planned with an early vector back to Ft Dodge due to the shorter Vul period. Blackhawk provided extract for the JTAC teams in <<REDACT>>. They worked directly with the 133rd CRC, fighters overhead, and the JTAC teams to make timely extraction allowing for F-16 target work right up to the extraction time.   

OVERALL: Tonight was an excellent series of training events overall. The matching up of all players in the second event was an excellent example of what Iowa Flag was designed to do. We took the kill chain from the ground element identifying a threat with the assist of Army Aviation, handing the
target off to the Air Force JTACS for attack, the 133rd CRC managing the flow of fighters and tankers while deconflicting the CAP and others, the ASOC/CAOC at Ft Dodge managing the fight, bombs on target on time! 

[cyclone]

Today is Iowa CAP's last operational day for Iowa Flag.  Here are some pictures from today.


Col Gene Kellogg (left) speaks to an aircrew about a re-tasking from the Air Guard controllers.


An Iowa National Guard UH-60 lands at Fort Dodge after a simulated medevac sortie.


CAP Flight 1377 taxies off for takeoff on an evening sortie over NW Iowa to simulate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

Today the media was at the Fort Dodge base and they got to see the exercise in action, including the CAP operation.  CAP personnel shared a steak dinner with the Iowa Air National Guard personnel tonight prior to flying their mission tonight.   We are getting ready to recover the aircraft now and will launch our final sortie later tonight.  Iowa CAP has flown over 40 hours in support of Iowa Flag.

[Ohioguard]

Thanks for the photos and updates. 

Great Job.........



JEFFREY C WANDELL, Lt Col, CAP

[Nick Critelli]

The following report has been <REDACTED>


Date: Aug 16th, 2007


Players: 6 F-16's, 1 KC-135, 1 RC-135 Rivet Joint, OPFOR, JTACS, Army Blackhawk Medivac & GP, Civil Air Patrol aircraft and Army ground  activity.

Summary: Again, we conducted a major Army/Air training event in both the Carroll and Storm Lake areas.  In Carroll, Rifle conducted a mounted recon with simulated IED impact. One simulated casualty was treated and moved to the medivac LZ where they met up with the Air Force JTAC who had been air lifted by Blackhawk into the area earlier. Once the medivac Blackhawk was on  the ground to receive the casualty, the JTAC directed several F-16  strafe  and bombing passes to cover the medivac flight. There was a strong  community presence to watch the event.

Simultaneously in the Storm Lake region, the Sabre ground team worked closely with the Air Force JTAC to call in fires on simulated terrorist targets. On several occasions, the JTAC simulated he  was incapacitated and allowed the Army team to conduct the actual F-16 CAS  drop  <REDACT> . On the air side, the 133rd TS worked closely with the CAP flight to change their flight plan to avoid the Medivac recovery effort allowing the F-16's to work strafe missions down to  <REDACT>  feet near Carroll while managing the rest of the airspace and tanker acctivities. Finally, the RC-135 RJ aircraft was able to check in with the 133rd CRC  <REDACT>.


Push #3 2100-2300L

Players: 4 F-16's, OPFOR, JTACS, Civil Air Patrol aircraft, and Army Convoy activity.

Summary: The final push went smoothly. We had the CAP flight drop the Carroll segment of their flight plan prior to take-off. This was due to the shortened vul period. The JTAC guys were both operating in the Storm Lake area so we focused the CAP flight plan there. The F-16's worked a number of CAS missions with the JTACS. Both the Sabre and Rifle Army ground teams conducted recon missions in the NAI's around Storm Lake and Carroll.   


OVERALL: As the final day of the CAS element of Iowa Flag, things went great. We had a number of excellent joint Army/Air training opportunities. The chance to participate directly with the F-16's bombing process was a huge highlight for the Sabre guys in their hot wash. The Blackhawk and Civil Air Patrol folks came through once again. We also conducted the press conference both at the 133rd in Ft Dodge and the Carroll airport.

Members of the press had tremendous access to many of the participants on both the Army and Air side. They were also able to film the Medivac efforts in Carroll and many of the activities in Ft Dodge including the  <REDACT> . As the Air to Ground phase comes to an end, I think all involved consider it a tremendous thumbs up. <REDACT>

From a selfish IAWG-CAP point of view, our air and comms officers  were able to log conservatively 50+ hours of flying  and about 250+ hours of comms operations  during these first 7 days making this the most operationally intensive training environment we've experienced in a very long time.

Iowa Flag has provided IAWG-CAP with an incredible opportunity to be a real part of   "Team Iowa" with our partners the IAANG and the IANG. The "take-aways" were huge for all three entities. We were given a golden opportunity to be involved in high level military exercise planning.  The skills learned and experienced gained will certainly change the way we plan our next SAR/ES/DR exercise. Operationally the experience was invaluable.  Every aspect of CAP's operation ... from legal (can we do it, who pays for it) to logistics (who, what, where, why and when regarding people, comms, aircraft, etc.,  ) to PAO meetings and briefings with the press, to LO with IAANG and IANG command elements was exercised. 

In sum it was an unbelievable experience.  IAANG PAO's have been taking a tremendous amount of unclassified video which we will get.  It includes all operations including CAP's.  Significantly it also includes yesterday's public briefing by General Pierce regarding the importance of IAWG.  When we get it and pull it all together we'll figure out a way to post it. Meanwhile we should be able to post several still shots.

There has been an unintended benefit. There has been a lot of publicity about the operations. The public was notified not to be alarmed when they see the air and ground action.  Well...they weren't alarmed at all-- they were proud.  As you can see from today's report there has been an outpouring of community support.  They even turn out to see the action.   It gives the public an opportunity to see their military in action. You cannot believe the amount of community pride that has been generated --- and IAWG-CAP is right in the middle of it.   [NOTE to Cyclone -- not is the time to kick off the fall recruiting effort in this part of the state]


To all of you who have posted words of encouragement, IAWG give you a big THANKS.   Iowa Flag has been a tremendous amount of work and your encouragement has helped keep us going.

Nick Critelli, Lt Col CAP
Iowa Wing -- Vice Commander

[NEBoom]

Outstanding job, you guys.  Congratulations on a successful operation.